Weekly Update

My last post was a bit of a downer, and I guess I haven't posted since because I am not sure how to follow it up. 

I did take Bear to the specialist, and her recommendations were exactly what my gut told me to do.  Bear can continue to train with slight modifications, but after nationals she needs a real break.  Plus she will need some physical therapy sessions to help her deal with the Sever's Disease.  The worst news is that she will probably continue to have bouts of Sever's for the rest of her childhood.  So it is very possible this pain will be recurring.  It just means that if Bear wants to be a gymnast she will have to be diligent at doing stretching and strength exercises every day.

Curly Q. did her play this week.  She actually performed it twice.  The first performance was the "regular" one associated with her class.  She did well, but it was the first time she had a singing solo.  She was SO nervous about it, that I think she looked a bit stiff throughout the whole play.  As for the solo it went well.  I have hear her sing it better than she did that night, but I was so proud of her for not letting  her nerves get he best of her.  The second performance was a benefit for Breast Cancer.  Curly Q. played a different part, and so there was no solo to worry about.  Without the added pressure she really let loose, and she looked GREAT!  It was fun to see her hamming it up.  I hope she can continue to loosen up and show how much she enjoys performing.

I am in planning mode right now.  I don't know why, but every May I am ready to start planning things.  I think I am sick of the stuff we have been doing, and I am ready to move on to new stuff.  I was trying to convince the girls to try a pre packaged curriculum.  I had been looking into Oak Meadow, and it looked really good to me.  Unfortunately the girls both really want to go back to unit studies.  I can't blame them.  Unit studies are more fun than anything else we have tried.  The problem is that they are a lot of work to plan.  Even the unit studies that you buy involve a lot of gathering of materials.  Still, I feel like this year we haven't done a lot of school, and what we have done wouldn't be classified as "fun".  I think the problem is that I wanted to be more unschooly, but I just don't have the faith in it that I would need.  So we spent the year alternating between me letting them do what they wanted and me panicking that they haven't done anything.  I don't judge those who can make unschooling work for their family, but I know that I am not one of them.

So as I said I am trying to plan summer.  I have decided to start right in on next year's homeschool stuff after our Florida trip.  When we get back we actually have a week to get back into the swing of things.  Then we have a week of testing.  After that we can do two three week sessions over the summer.  We will break them up to accommodate summer camps, etc. Then we will take a month off from mid August until mid September.  And another break from mid December til mid January.  I really think that schedule is a nice balance between schooling year round and taking a long break.  Plus we usually end up taking breaks at those times anyway.  So if they are built into our schedule I don't have to feel guilty about it.

I have also been working on our summer schedule in terms of other stuff.  I feel like if we don't make a point to see friends during the summer we don't see them at all.  Bear's gymnastics schedule is intense for summer, and it really kind of dominates everything we do at this point.  She will have practice Mon, Tues and Thursday afternoons.  Curly will have dance on Thursday nights.  So Thursdays are pretty much shot.  I figure John can have friends over on Thursdays since we won't be around.  Also, on either Monday or Tuesday (probably Tuesday) one of Curly's friends will spend the afternoon with us while Bear and the other girl's sister are at gymnastics.  We also have to fit guitar lessons in for Curly Q.  That leaves Wed. and Fri. free.  My hope is that we will do fun trips on Friday, and have friends over on Wednesday.  We can still do school in the mornings too!  It sounds like the perfect plan.  Of course I know things won't go according to plan because they never do, but it looks nice on paper

So there you have it.  When I get anxious I plan.  I know it sounds crazy (maybe it is).  The mere act of making the plan is soothing because it feels active as opposed to passive.  So I guess in that way I am feeling better.